• Allison at BCS Frenzy offers four reasons USC thumped Ohio State.
• Tony at Dejuiced talks about the Cubs’ almost pulling off back-to-back no hitters.
• Tony also discusses the Brewers firing Ned Yost at Inside the Ballpark.
• Jodie at Gossip on Sports talks about No Jet-ribution and tells a funny story about what happened to Tom Brady.
• Jeanne at Hockey Beat discusses NHL 09 on XBOX 360 and their unreadable discs.
• Jyle at Footie thinks that some fans of the UEFA Euro 2008 have gone bat crazy.
• Over at Sneaks ‘N Gear Jyle shows us a metallic version of the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star Hi Top.
• David at Every Morning Quarterback features his interview with N.Y. Jets defensive back Darrelle Revis.
• Sandy at Light the Torch shows the Paralympics have their share of star athletes, such as Sweden’s Jonas Jacobsson, who picked up his 14th Paralympic Gold Medal this week.
• At Green Posse, Sandy gives us a look at Louisville’s Valhalla Golf Club, wthe site of this week’s Ryder Cup duel between Team USA and Team Europe.
• Stephen at Hoops Fantasy talks about the 2009 NBA MVP Award Favorites.
• At Knuckle Curve, Stephen takes a look at the American League MVP Candidates.
• Jarrod is back blogging with us at Thoroughbred Fever. Stop by to check out the latest horse racing news.
• Kori at The Fantasy Kickoff talks about the top fantasy football players from Week 2.

Last but not least, we want to welcome Scott Wharton to the channel. Scott is blogging at Jab and Grapple, where he writes about MMA and wrestling. Bookmark the site and visit often!

Thanks for reading!

Photo credit: istockphoto

Post from: Knuckle Curve

• Sandy kicks off the favorite talk with her favorite Olympic sport at Light the Torch.
• Sandy also discusses her favorite golfer – Tom Weiskopf – at Green Posse.
• Michael talks about not showing favoritism at Jab and Grapple.
• Tim talks about Tony Stewart and Stewart-Haas Racing at Do You NASCAR.
• Lyndsey tells all about being a Kansas City Chiefs fan at Girls Dig Sports.
• Tony talks about his favorite team – the Houston Astros – at Inside the Ballpark.
• Jodie tells us about favorite players, teams and more across many sports at Gossip on Sports.
• Cherie reminisces about her favorite moments as an Ohio State fan at Dejuiced.
• Stephen talks about his favorite baseball teams of 2008 at Knuckle Curve.
• Stephen also discusses his five favorite fantasy basketball players at HoopsFantasy.
• David talks about America’s favorite spectator sport at Every Morning Quarterback.
• Kori discusses her favorite fantasy football players at The Fantasy Kickoff.

Thanks for reading and hopefully you visit all the great blogs here at b5media often.

Image credit: istockphoto

Post from: Knuckle Curve

My editor, Kori, challenged each of us in the b5 sports channel to answer the question, “Why do you love sports?” It’s tougher than you think.

For me, sports is such a huge part of my identity that I have trouble stepping outside of it. Like, you might as well ask me why I have brown eyes.

But that’s a copout, so let’s see if I can come up with something more satisfying. Growing up, I played “organized” sports such as baseball, basketball, and soccer. I never quite got the hang of soccer, but it was just becoming popular in the late-’70s, so I ran around and tried to look busy.

I wasn’t real crazy about any of the sports I played. Baseball was okay, especially toward the end of my “playing career,” but what I really enjoyed was playing pick-up games: touch football, softball, and even stuff we would make up, like “strikeout.”

Strikeout goes by many different names, but basically it’s two-person baseball. One guy would pitch and the other would bat, standing in front of a wall. We used a real wood bat and a tennis ball. There was no running involved, and we just played until we got tired, which was great fun for me but not so much for my shoulder.

Anyway, I didn’t really catch the sports bug until I reached high school, when I started playing tennis. That sport really engaged me in a way that no other had before or since.

What got me about tennis was that it was just me and this other guy. You went in knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, and through the course of competition, you figured out what the other guy was trying to do. You had to think, but you also had to act. For me, that was the challenge. What is this person trying to do, and how do I keep him from accomplishing that? I didn’t think about it in those terms back then, but that’s what I was doing.

I’ve continued to play sports in my adult life, though not to the degree that I did when I was younger. Life gets in the way, and all that. But now I enjoy the cameraderie as much as anything. On the rare occasions when I play softball these days, it’s as much to hang out with friends as it is to engage in serious competition. Not that I don’t still compete, mind you, but the emphasis has shifted.

Most of my enjoyment of sports now comes as a spectator. It’s sort of passive, but if you are passionate, as I am about baseball, it can become pretty active. The joy for me in watching a ballgame comes from trying to figure out what everyone on the field is trying to do at any given moment, as well as from spending time with my wife and/or my friends.

I haven’t really thought about it much before, but I’m really in it now for the same reasons I was 20+ years ago. That and the chicks, of course.

But enough about me. Why do you love sports? Was there someone or something that got you hooked?

Post from: Knuckle Curve

By opting out, Rodriguez will forfeit the potential $91 million that is left on his contract. Also, the Texas Rangers, who traded Rodriguez to the Yankees in 2004, will not be responsible for subsidizing $30 million of his salary.

First off, can you even imagine kissing up to $30 million a year (his current deal was through 2010) goodbye on the assumption that you’ll be able to earn more on the open market? I so need a new line of work.

Hank Steinbrenner’s quotes are classic:

If you don’t understand the magnitude of being a Yankee and understand what that means, and being the highest-paid player in baseball, I think it’s pretty obvious.

And further down:

If we’re going to make you rich and we’re going to give you the privilege of being a Yankee, you’ve got to show us you want to be here.

Hank is George’s kid, but you probably guessed that already. I suppose the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Or would that be the Big Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree?

Either way, the next question is, who will give Rodriguez more money than he was making in New York? I mean, if baseball’s biggest spender can’t afford your services, then who can?

I smell bake sale…

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Post from: Knuckle Curve

Peterson says pitchers usually agree that the four biggest elements leading to success are movement, location, velocity and change of speed. The trick is in which order to rate them.

Peterson’s goal is to get his pitchers to appreciate that location comes first. Then comes change of speed and movement, with velocity bringing up the rear. That ranking comes as a surprise to some pitchers, Peterson said, because they have had years of receiving their most positive feedback for throwing hard.

Peterson raises a good point about the premium placed on velocity when evaluating amateur pitchers. The general thought is that if a kid possesses the ability to throw hard, he can learn the nuances of pitching later. (Robbie Beckett would disagree, but I digress.)

He goes on to cite Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, and Orlando Hernandez as examples of pitchers who rely on hitting their spots for success. Here in San Diego, we’ve got guys like Trevor Hoffman, Greg Maddux, and David Wells who do the same. Hoffman, in particular, is a marvel to watch because batters generally know what’s coming and they still can’t hit him.

Peterson’s task is a challenging one. He has to convince kids who have relied on and been rewarded for their ability to throw hard that location is the primary determinant of success from this point forward. In other words, what got them noticed initially isn’t necessarily what’s going to give them staying power.

If Peterson can’t convince these kids that hitting their spots is more important than lighting up the radar guns, then big-league hitters surely will. I know which one I’d rather learn from.

Post from: Knuckle Curve